My first challenge

I am super excited to have joined the Daring Bakers in pursuit of monthly baking challenges. It's always fun to try something new... and fall in love with it as well.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie

For the Crust:
¾ cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
⅓ cup (80 mL) ice water
For the Filling:
2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
½ cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
¼ cup (60 mL) butter
¾ cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
For the Meringue:
5 egg whites, room temperature
½ tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
½ tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
¾ cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

For the Crust: Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.
Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of ⅛ inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about ½ inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

For the Filling: Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated.
Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

For the Meringue: Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

Impatient

Most things in life, I can stand. However, it's so hard for me to resist a fresh batch of cookies right out of the oven. Most recipes suggest you let the cookies cool on a rack before munching on them, but I always fail that part of the directions. Sometimes it just feels (and tastes) so good to break "rules," especially in times like these. Here is a recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen that is quite irresistable, even before the final product is revealed.

Slice-and-bake Cookies

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp.
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
pinch of salt
**optional mix-ins of personal choice
grated zest of 2 oranges
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Beat butter in a bowl and mix in sugar. Add in the egg, salt, vanilla, and any optional ingredients. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour in batches. Once everything is well incorporated, gather the dough into a ball and divide into two. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so.
Working on a smooth surface, form each piece of dough into a log that is about 1 to 1 1/4 inches (2.5 to 3.2 cm) thick. Wrap the logs in plastic and chill for 2 hours.
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
While the oven is preheating, roll cookie logs in any coatings of your choice. Then, using a sharp slender knife, slice each log into cookies about 1/3 inch (10 mm) thick. Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets, leaving about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) space between them.
Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are set but not browned. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool to room temperature.

If you're like me, the last step may be irrelevant.

New year mistake

Just a couple days into 2008, I made a terrible mistake. All I have to say now is that I'm grateful to still be alive after that one night. The only way I'm moving now is forward. No looking back.

Fried Fish Tacos

Ingredients:

boned and skinned, white fish (I used catfish fillets)

corn tortillas

shredded lettuce

1 cup dark beer

1 cup flour

1 tsp. paprika

salt for seasoning

vegetable oil for frying

**dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbs. ranch dressing

a big squirt of ketchup

1 tbs. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. dijon mustard

2 tsp. hot sauce (optional)

Directions:
Cut the fish into relatively similar sizes. Prepare batter by mixing beer, flour, paprika, and some salt. Coat fish with batter.
Pour an inch high of vegetable oil into a deep frying pan. Heat oil until it reaches 350 degrees [F]. Since I don't have a thermometer, I just tested the oil temperature by dropping some batter into the oil and looking for bubbles to form around it.
Carefully drop fish pices into the oil. Remember not to add too many at a time or else the temperature of the oil will drop dramatically. Cook on each side for about 2 minutes, until they are golden brown. When they are done, drain fish on paper towels to remove excess oil.
To assemble the taco, place fish into corn tortilla and top with a layer of shredded lettuce and dressing of choice.

I incorporated some pancake batter mix with my flour to give the fish a fluffier coating. Definitely recommended. And with my leftover tortillas I made...

Sugar&Spice Tortilla Chips

Ingredients:
flour or corn tortillas
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
vegetable oil for frying

Directions:
Combine sugar and cinnamon. Cut tortilla into wedges (6 or 8 depending on the size of your tortilla). Drop them into hot oil. They don't take long to brown so keep an eye on them. Flip them over when they attain a light golden brown color. As soon as you take them out of the oil, place on a paper towl and liberally sprinkle sugar and cinammon mixture.